People's Liberation Army (PLA): News

Today the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) said that 82 th anniversary of its establishment. Celebrations are taking place against the background that only resulted in a joint Russian-Chinese anti-terrorist exercises «Peaceful Mission - 2009». They PLA showed a mature and highly well-equipped modern army weapons, capable of safely to ensure the security of their country. A Chinese army troops - well-trained and vysokodistsiplinirovannymi.

Two weeks «Peace Mission» China flew as one day. During this time, having the opportunity to personally observe the lives of Chinese, to learn about the country much more than in all previous «Clubs kinoputeshestvy». Проникся know and respect the people of China, to its army. Made for a main conclusion: China - is seriously, very seriously ...

The Chinese love the name, veyuschie grandiloquence and to highlight the greatness of their accomplishments. Even his «Hammer» called «Our experience warrior» (translation). This may be treated without any share of irony, and even with the understanding, as it is in no way affects their good and respectful attitude towards his guests, and even more so to the neighbors, bringing to the country of new knowledge, transferring them to new practical skills. Evidence of this can be and the zeal with which they have begun to address the effects of a small hurricane, which swept over the field camp participants exercises «Peaceful Mission - 2009». Damage to property and equipment of Russian and Chinese armies, estimated at several locations rickety fence. Nevertheless, this small natural PE once again demonstrated the Chinese attitude to the Russians - PLA soldiers rushed to help eliminate the effects of «joked element» is up to them in the first place and then started to fight for their own «survival».

Perhaps it should be noted and the readiness of Chinese to come to the aid of any other matters concerning not only the machinations of Mother Nature. As one of our officers, PLA soldiers sincerely ready to help anytime and anywhere, share their life experiences, give tips for living in China, though travel expenses. The other case - the highly sensitive in matters relating directly to the national armed forces. Here you will be useful analytical mind in order to connect together the tight-fisted about their numbers, weapons and combat capabilities. However, it is sufficient to maintain the load of thinking process.

Planned expenditures

The current strength of the People's Liberation Army of China is 2.3 million, while in 1997 it had all three. The military budget in 2008 increased by 17.6 percent, reaching a mark of 58.8 billion dollars. However, the Chinese themselves as in personal conversations, both formally and note that for twenty years, the cost of gosoboronu increased by only 15.36 per cent. At the same time, expenditure on education increased by 22.5 percent, health care - at 20.9 percent, social insurance and employment - at 23.1 per cent, the preservation of the environment - at 22.3 percent, ensuring a peaceful life and construction - to 199.6 per cent. In the same year, the budget for defense is 480.686 billion yuan (about 68.5 billion dollars), representing 6.3 per cent of the expenditure budget. These figures quoted Chinese Defense Minister Colonel-General Liang Guanle, knows almost every Chinese soldiers, not to mention the war journalists, and the «shoot» them to within one hundredth ...

Five steps forward

A moderate increase in defense spending in China has its own explanation. According to the minister of defense, it is due to the following factors. First, China is a developing nation that has not yet fully united. He has a vast territory, large population, the land border of over 22,800 km, the coastal line of more than 32 thousand km (including 18 square kilometers of coastal line on the mainland and the island's 14 square kilometers of coastal line), as well as the related area of water area, more than 3 million square meters. km. And since the situation with the external environment is rather complicated, the task of safeguarding the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of the country facing the leadership of the state very seriously.

Secondly, against the backdrop of rapid development of changes in the military in the world, China is required to strengthen the modernization of the troops and to increase investment in informatizatsionnoe construction, increase the provision for the establishment of high-tech weaponry and equipment.

The third is to serve the interests of improving the incomes of civil servants and the living standards of urban and rural population, the state several years, diligently engaged in the problems associated with ordering the issuance of allowances and grants the military, improve the living conditions of soldiers and officers, to guarantee that the standard of living of military personnel will be able to continuously rise.

And fourthly, said Liang Guanle, China should increase the possibility of the army to take urgent measures to rescue operations during disasters, to ensure stability during the anti-terrorist actions and other non-military action, to explore, develop and supply the necessary equipment, organize and deploy the necessary training and exercises.

The fifth, China must seek to engage in international cooperation, said Minister of Defense, to comply with international obligations, continuously strengthen and expand military exchanges and cooperation with the outside world, to expand its participation in UN peacekeeping, international anti-terrorist activities, action to provide emergency strikes on piracy, in co-operation on regional security, to protect peace and stability throughout the world, to show the image of a responsible power.

Strictly speaking, this is the basic directions in which direction the Chinese army is moving, and moving with some success. From 1988 to 2008, 11,063 Chinese peacekeepers have taken part in 18 UN operations. Eight people were killed. Currently, 1,952 Chinese peacekeepers are serving in nine areas of conflict and commanding troops for UN peacekeeping. China ranked first among the permanent members of UN Security Council on the number of peacekeepers - the participants of United Nations missions.

At the height of prestige

Currently, the age at PLA - 18. The duration of military service - two years. Because of the significant human resources pereizbytka appeal is selective. Command has the opportunity to take in the best army. Male 18-35 years old, is not designed for military service, are in service in the reserve in the system of popular militias, now numbering more than 36 million people. It is seen as organized armed reserve PLA and the basis of the partisan movement.

The last few years, state continuously improves the living conditions of military pay raises and compensation payments for the food ration, which generally promotes the army, its personnel officers. For example, Major General of the Army receives about 5.5 thousand yuan (1 yuan equals to 4.7 rubles), Lieutenant Colonel - about six, a colonel - of about seven (excluding reimbursements).

According to our interlocutors, the right to a pension from the military comes after thirty years of service and makes it 90 percent of pay at the time of dismissal. As a promotion the armed forces can increase its size to 95 per cent. In the event of early termination of military service instead of a pension is paid a so-called monthly allowance in the amount depending on the number of prosluzhennyh years. For example, a colonel, served for 25 years, will receive it in the amount of 85 per cent of pay at the time of dismissal, 20 years - down another 10 percent. By the way, the age limit of stay in the military service of Major General is 60 years old, a Lieutenant General - 65 years, and the Colonel-General - 70.

Are the officers in question and the benefits of home ownership. In homes, rebuilt military, they have the right to purchase one square meter at a cost of about $ 600 instead of the market 2 thousand - the price of homes on the outskirts of Beijing (in each city, county and province of their prices per square meter respectively, and reduced the price changes for troops).

Usually dressed in military uniforms seeking young people from poor rural areas, since the army provides them with shelter and a stable salary. Military is to a large number of young people the main goal in life. Since last year the army of the cities and county centers began to recruit young people with higher and professional education. Improved educational qualification and rural youth, call in the army - from elementary school to higher secondary schools at secondary level. The selection of the same candidates for admission to military schools is extremely hard - in one place in the school through the screening sieve year trying to break up to 11 thousand people.

Technological step

The prestige of military service in China is explained by the fact that in recent years in the PLA began to receive modern equipment and weapons. These include tanks Touré Touré-98 and-96, self-propelled artillery installation 2S23, ACS (WAC-021) and MRL (A-100, WM-80, WS-1) domestic production, anti-aircraft missile systems «Tor-M1» . Chinese fighter aircraft since the early 1990's rearming on the newest aircraft Su-27 (the Chinese name of J-11) and Su-30 (J-12). Another contemporary Chinese fighter is considered to be J-10, which is established on the basis of the Israeli «Laavi». There are scores of seven of these fighters, and after a few years they will have about three hundred. The average strike of Chinese pilots in modern fighters is 200 hours per year.

Last year, China introduced at its international air show a wide range of aviation equipment, standing on the weapons the Air Force. Most samples show for the first time. Thus, with professional shows and the audience were a fighter-bomber «Feybao» ( «Flying Leopard»), fighters «Jian-8» and «Jian-10», training supersonic L-15, tanker aircraft, helicopters « Zhi-9 »,« Zhi-8 », transport aircraft« Yun-8 ». Overall, it was billed on 16 planes and helicopters.

Someone, of course, can argue - they say, know what are these new items! But our experts say that in fact is the Chinese army in the technologically advanced - it is a hybrid of the world's most advanced technology, and Russian, and Western. And it has fairly modest organizational, operational and strategic opportunities can be increased significantly in the near future. At present, PLA is preparing to conduct large-scale military exercises «Big Step - 2009». They will be attended by 50,000 people from 4 military regions - Shenyang, Lanchzhouskogo, Tszinanskogo and Guanchzhouskogo. These complex exercises designed to strengthen the military capabilities of China in the information war. This course will be checked by the ability of military commanders to work in a team and make decisions taking into account the views of military experts, to conduct military operations involving ground and air assault troops, to operate in an environment complicated by the strong electromagnetic radiation. The exercise will involve more than 6,000 vehicles, heavy weapons. The troops will overcome during the maneuvers, a total of 50,000 km and make a march-throw on the 2.000 km.

The strength of China - in its ability to learn and change. Past exercises «Peaceful Mission - 2009» is demonstrated particularly strong. Soldiers of the Chinese army very carefully studied the Russian experience of conducting such exercises, the accumulated energy over the practice of anti-terrorist operations. Interesting piece - all the movements of our units in the field of educational battle Chinese meticulously recorded on video and even film. It is worth noting, and a good knowledge of many Chinese officers in the Russian language, the development of which takes place at the Academy of PLA and the military university. However, asked the Chinese comrades almost everything related to Russia, with its armed forces and their new appearance. We can say that the PLA soldiers - diligent and tenacious students ...

At the end of January 2009 Book of Chinese army unveiled a report which identified the prospects of development of national defense, as well as the objectives, strategies and planned expenditure in this area. According to this information, the main focus of the Chinese Government plans to make information and mechanization of power structures, and in the future, Beijing will stick to the strategy «active defense».

The Chinese army is holding the largest in the history of doctrine. Parts are moved along the ground and air to a distance of 1600 km. Maneuvers should serve as a warning to the rebels on the outskirts of the national Celestial, and neighboring states with which China has territorial disputes. Russia in the eyes of Beijing remains a reliable refuge.

The main feature of the exercises lies precisely in the transfer of troops over long distances, far beyond the permanent deployment. In the maneuvers involved the division of the four major military regions - Shenyang, Lanchzhousskogo, Jinan and Guanchzhousskogo. The official Xinhua news agency announced that the it "the biggest in the history of tactical exercises, although the amount involved in these soldiers and officers is relatively small - 50 thousand people.

All these martial games, led by the General Staff, will last two months. For fast delivery of parts to the place of "battle" will be used in high-speed trains on the railways and civil aircraft. In an interview with "NWO" lead researcher of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies Paul Kamenov noted that the People's Liberation Army of China is implementing a modernization program. It aims to improve the interaction between military branches, as well as the informatization management. PLA must become more mobile. Before the troops were to operate mainly within their region. And now the emphasis, according to the expert, is out to get them as soon as possible in the "hot spot".

The exercises were planned long before, in July this year in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of anti-Chinese riots broke out, during which about 200 people were killed and nearly 1,700 injured. But anyway, the maneuvers associated with inter-ethnic clashes that rocked the Xinjiang recently, and last year, Tibet. No wonder Colonel Leung Tszesun, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, stationed near Beijing, which has been recently foreign reporters, just told them that the army should be ready to defeat the "terrorists" in regions such as Tibet and Xinjiang.

The Chinese leadership has interpreted that to the PLA are purely defensive tasks. Nevertheless, the military in India and even in neighboring China with Southeast Asia followed the modernization of the armed forces of the Celestial Empire, numbering 2.3 million people, with growing alarm. So Admiral Surish Mehta, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Commander of the Indian Navy, said that China poses a formidable military machine. When this is achieved, it will behave in a more tightly with its neighbors. "And we - recognized Indian admiral - will not be able to answer a call from China either conventional or non-conventional forces."

Even more outspoken former Indian Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major. According to the commander, China poses a great threat to his country than Pakistan.

The rivalry with China for control over oil supply routes in the Indian Ocean, as well as unresolved territorial disputes with him pushed Delhi to conclude the nuclear deal and the establishment of close military ties with Washington. United States, in turn, seek to connect India to the informal axis of its allies, including Japan and Australia.

In Beijing, of course, are watching closely to see how arming other nations of Asia and what role the region played in the U.S.. Thus, the site of the central Party newspaper People's Daily "said that the hostile forces have the intention to encircle China with military bases. Thesis about the environment in China and repeats the pro-Peking issued in Hong Kong newspaper Wen Wei Po. "

Doctor of Historical Sciences Jacob Berger in an interview with HBO, said that these publications reflect the views of serious military analysts in China. From their point of view, increasing China's military power is necessary to protect its interests in a turbulent environment.

As for Moscow, it would, according to a well-known Sinologist, no need to fear the military ambitions of Beijing. The recent joint anti-terror maneuvers China and Russia reiterated that Russia to China is a reliable refuge.

Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said reports claiming that Chinese force had entered North Korea as requested by the country to help maintain its stability were “totally groundless.”

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands paid their last respects to former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il as the reclusive country started a two-day funeral service for its deceased “dear leader.”

According to the North Korean state news agency, Kim Jong-il died of a heart attack while traveling on a train on December 17, aged 69. However, U.S. and South Korean intelligence sources said that he could not have died on the train as it had been stationary all week.

An affordable way of getting modest payloads into space relatively cheaply?

_________________“The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion […] but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact; non-Westerners never do.”

― Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order

Doubtful, because they're clearly shooting this thing at something. Could be testing penetration capabilities of new rounds and using this thing to get them up to speed very quickly, or could be testing this thing as an actual weapon.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has started an eight-day regular military exercise near Korean Peninsula.

MOSCOW, January 10 (Sputnik) — The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has started its regular military drills in the waters adjacent to the Korean Peninsula, the Chinese ministry of national defense said in a statement posted on its official website.

The set of drills is set to last from January 9 through to January 16 and will take place in the Bohai Strait and the north of the Yellow Sea.

That vehicle looks decidedly familiar and those MRLS rockets are standard US designs... it is a four pack of HE rockets... I think Swartzenegger used them in one of his movies... Commando I think.

_________________“The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion […] but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact; non-Westerners never do.”

― Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order

China has revealed the world’s most powerful armor-piercing gun canon that could be used for the next generation of Chinese main battle tanks.China revealed the world’s most powerful Jeffrey Lin and P.W. Singer 120mm/125mm armor-piercing gun cannon.

The gun prototype in comparison to other similar models displays the highest, range, velocity, and penetration power in the world, as stated by the 127th Ordinance Institute of the Central Northern University.

The prototypes’ barrel length is 7.5 meters with a length to caliber ratio of at least 60:1. The multipurpose cannon supposedly has a muzzle velocity of 2,000m per second for armored piercing fin stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds, Popular Science reported.The cannon gun will be put for a full test by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and could be used for the next generation of Chinese main battle tanks.

ccording to Lin and Singer it may be possible that this new military hardware “could provide indirect fire support with cannon launched missiles and shells for Chinese forces, such as distant, networked infantry units calling in strikes on enemy positions (though the turret size and recoil mechanisms means that the claimed maximum 40km range is likely theoretical),” media reported.Lin and Singer also note that should the gun prototype turn out to be successful, it would be a good example of how the Chinese defense sector is now collaborating with academia when it comes to military R&D projects.

"The People's Liberation Army may eventually equip its main battle tanks with electric reactive armor to prevent damage from anti-tank weapons, reports China's Global Times.

Electric reactive armor is usually made of two electrical plates separated by an insulator to make a high-power capacitor. When a tank using the armor is hit by an incoming object such as a rocket or missile, it will discharge electricity from the capacitor to vaporize the object. The discharge is claimed to be powerful to turn the incoming object into plasma, said the report."

On October 16, China hosted ASEAN defense ministers for the first-ever informal meeting of this kind in Beijing.

The holding of the inaugural ASEAN-China Defense Ministers’ Informal Meeting (ACDMIM) is itself an achievement for China and ASEAN.

For China, it is the realization of a proposal it has been floating for years to boost defense ties with Southeast Asian states (See: “China to Hold First Meeting with ASEAN Defense Ministers in Beijing”).

For ASEAN, it is another step in the deepening of the regional grouping’s security relations with major powers. Despite the singular focus on China, a point often missed amidst sensationalist headlines is that this comes after the holding of similar ‘first’ defense ministerials with the United States and Japan in 2014. The timing and sequence of these events is not insignificant.

But beyond this general significance, what did China aim to achieve at this inaugural meeting? Close observers of ASEAN-China relations know that China is fond of making proposals in numerical terms – with the “2 + 7 cooperation framework” in 2013 and the “ten point proposal” in 2015 being just two recent examples of this (See: “Beijing Unveils New Strategy for ASEAN-China Relations”).

Things were no different at the first ACDMIM. Chinese defense minister Chang Wanquan, who chaired the meeting, put forth a “five point proposal” for boosting security and defense cooperation between China and ASEAN. The first two points essentially lay out the link between defense cooperation and the broader ASEAN-China strategic partnership as well as the Asian Security outlook respectively. The first point is fairly boilerplate – Beijing is fond of emphasizing that security ties are just one part of the overall ASEAN-China relationship.

The second point, though, is notable. In referencing the Asian Security Outlook, which was a product of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building in Asia (CICA), Chan was emphasizing China’s vision for a new security concept and related institutions to replace the U.S. alliance system, with Asians solving their own problems (or ‘Asia for Asians’). To be sure, few doubted that this was part of China’s objective – ACDMIM itself, after all, was held back-to-back with the Xiangshan Forum which is another China-led institution. But the inclusion of it in the five-point proposal, and the suggestion that it “should be honored,” will only add to the suspicion in some quarters about China’s designs in the region.

The remaining three points are relatively more operational. They call for the boosting of defense ties through the continued building of security mechanisms – including ACDMIM and others like the ASEAN Regional Forum; the deepening of cooperation in functional areas ranging from humanitarian operations and military medicine science to anti-piracy and anti-terrorism; and the management of disputes including through the holding of new joint drills.

The third point is not without consequence, since it situates ACDMIM within the context of an evolving regional security architecture which is being shaped in a competitive environment with ASEAN seeking to preserve its prized centrality. It also clearly lays out China’s vision for how the building of this architecture should proceed: “with openness, inclusiveness, transparency and equality.”

But among these, the fifth one has garnered the most attention. That is no surprise, since China has proposed the holding of both a joint drill involving the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) as well as another one involving maritime search and rescue and disaster relief in the South China Sea. Yet as I pointed out in a separate piece for The Diplomat, these proposals are not as revolutionary as they seem (See: “The Truth About China’s New South China Drill Proposal With ASEAN”). In particular, the South China Sea joint exercise – while intended to seem like a conciliatory gesture to calm tensions – is quite limited in scope and will not be without its challenges if it is pursued alongside China’s illegal artificial-island building and militarization campaign. As I note in the piece, a Philippine senior naval commander told Reuters rather cheekily that Manila welcomed the proposal as it offered an opportunity to verify if China’s artificial islands in the South China Sea truly had no military purpose.

Of course, as with other Chinese proposals in the past like the “2 + 7 cooperation framework” and the “ten point proposal,” some of these initiatives will move forward with varying speeds while others may eventually not progress at all. But with the inaugural ACDMIM, China has clearly laid out its parameters for the advancement of defense ties with ASEAN.

"The new type of “Yongshi (Warrior)” Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) passed the acceptance inspection in early November and will soon be delivered to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) for use. The “Yongshi (Warrior)” SUV, commissioned in 2007, is the PLA’s. second generation of command vehicle. With the significant improvement in China's automobile industry, a bureau in charge of such equipment as vehicles and ships under the PLA General Armament Department (GAD), has worked with other relevant units in recent years to design the new generation of “Yongshi (Warrior)” SUV, in a bid to meet the needs of troops.

After six rounds of prototype manufacture and a total test mileage of about 1.2 million kilometers, the new “Yongshi (Warrior)” SUV finally took shape. The new “Yongshi (Warrior)” has an all-metal enclosed body. All joints are sealed in a more complete structure for more reliability. And the synthetic materials are used in its engine to enable a lower noise level. With the use of a number of new materials including damping rubber, soundproof cotton and cavity foam, the interior noise of the SUV at high speed is significantly reduced. Li Qinnan, a researcher of the vehicle, introduced that new “Yongshi (Warrior)” SUV uses supercharging electrically controlled common rail diesel engine system suitable for plateau environment. The engine system can effectively enhance the power and acceleration performance of the vehicle, even in snow-covered plateau areas.

The new “Yongshi (Warrior)” is also loaded with the vehicle fault diagnostic system which can increase the vehicle Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) to 60 percent, Li added. The developing needs of military and civilian equipment integration were fully taken into consideration before the design and production of the new “Yongshi (Warrior)” vehicle. The research, development and production of the military type “Yongshi (Warrior)” were in synchronous operation with the civilian type of “Yongshi”, which has improved the level of military and civilian components' compatibilities and effectively extended the support chain of the new “Yongshi (Warrior)” SUV."

Rumours of a new Chinese light tank first surfaced in 2011 and now new details have emerged, including adjustable armour and a 105-mm gun.

The People’s Liberation Army developed its first tank in 1962. The Type 62/WZ-131 was designed to successfully navigate the low-capacity bridges and rugged terrain of southern China. Continuing that tradition, Beijing is developing its latest light tank, and Chinese web portal Sina released details last month.

The website confirms earlier reports that the vehicle weighs roughly 35 tons and is equipped with a 105-mm gun. While the website claims that the vehicle requires a crew of four, it’s cannon features an autoloader, which would eliminate the need for one crewmember.

The gun appears to have sights and optics based on the T-99A2, the Chinese army’s third generation main battle tank. It could also come with shell-tracking radar. Cannon rounds could be capable of penetrating 500-mm armor, and the tank could fire gun-launched missiles. The turret comes with detachable armor and is equipped with smoke grenade launchers and laser detectors.

As for the tank’s chassis, Sina reports that the vehicle features a liquid-gas suspension. This allows the tank to "crouch" in order to more effectively conceal itself. The suspension also stabilizes the vehicle during targeting, allowing for improved accuracy.

The AFT-10 (also named HJ-10) is a Chinese land attack missile developed by China Aerospace Science & Industry Corporation (CASIC). AFT-10 was first revealed in its deployment in Peace Mission 2014 joint military exercise.

The AFT-10 has a length of 1,850 mm; width of 165 mm; weight, including launch system, of 150 kg; and a warhead weighing 43 kg. Its solid-rocket booster and micro turbojet engine confer a range of 10 km, a cruise speed of 150 m/s, and an attack speed of 230 m/s.

At the 2012 Zhuhai show China also revealed the Sichuan Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation’s WS-33 optical/imaging guided rocket, which is longer than the CM-501G at 3,300 mm and heavier at 200 kg, but has a similar 70 km range. From the missile’s brochure it is not clear whether it used fibre-optic guidance and it may use datalinks instead. The WS-33 uses folding delta wings compared with the CM-501G’s folding straight wings.

Two of these missiles were seen carried by and launched by a version of the new ZBD-04A armoured personnel carrier (APC), also fitted with a new optical/imaging guidance system. The ZBD-04A may be able to carry up to eight missiles.